The seats of the Oirad appear to have been about the head
waters of the Kem, or Upper Yenisei.
In A.D. 1295 there took place a curious desertion from the service of
Ghazan Khan of Persia of a vast corps of the Oirad, said to amount to
18,000 tents. They made their way to Damascus, where they were well
received by the Mameluke Sultan. But their heathenish practices gave dire
offence to the Faithful. They were settled in the Sahil, or coast
districts of Palestine. Many died speedily; the rest embraced Islam,
spread over the country, and gradually became absorbed in the general
population. Their sons and daughters were greatly admired for their
beauty. (S. Setz. p. 87; Erdmann, 187; Pallas, Samml. I. 5 seqq.;
Makrizi, III. 29; Bretschneider, Med. Res. II. p. 159 seqq.)
[With reference to Yule's conjecture, I may quote Palladius (l.c. p. 27):
"It is, however, strange that the Oirats alone enjoyed the privilege
described by Marco Polo; for the highest position at the Mongol Khan's
court belonged to the Kunkrat tribe, out of which the Khans used to choose
their first wives, who were called Empresses of the first ordo." - H. C.]
NOTE 7.
